Students attend Salzburg Academy

Now in its seventh year, the three-week program’s goal is to enhance understanding of media literacy to create social change.

Paul Mihailidis, assistant professor in the Marketing Communication Department, leads a discussion at the Salzburg Academy on Media and Global Change. (Courtesy photo)

“I’ve definitely become more media literate,” said Esther Glasionov ’15, a Marketing Communication major. “I didn’t always pay as much attention to the news as I do now. Now, I’m following several countries’ news sites on Twitter so I’m getting updates from all over the world.”

About 60 students from 18 countries took part in the program, which included workshops and group discussions that ultimately produced case studies and awareness-raising videos to aid understanding of how media cover various issues internationally—everything from how social media can give voice to lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender communities to why people should be wary of what they share online, to how media affects men’s body image and how digital media can help raise awareness of women’s rights.

“I definitely want to be more in touch with what’s going on,” Glasionov said, “and I am going to question the media a lot more instead of just believing everything.”

This fall, Salzburg is signing a memorandum of understanding with Emerson to become a core study abroad program in connection with Emerson's newly forming Global Engagement Lab, which will launch in spring 2014 with a focus on global initiatives that facilitate cross-border, cross-cultural media production and exchange.